On our passage from Madeira to the Canary Islands we stopped at the uninhabited natural reserve Selvagens Islands. Two Portuguese islands, about 175 nm south of Madeira, 100 nm north of the Canary Islands and the most southern part of Portugal. They made for a great stopover during our passage, however one can’t just drop anchor there. Continue reading “Selvagens Islands”

The smell of wood hit me. Pervasive, but not the smell of newly unpacked IKEA furniture. This smell was different. I will allow myself to call it a “wet” smell, however it wasn’t wet here at all. This wood smells like it was touched by winds, some salt water, many years of people being in its company, overcooked meals, freshly caught fish and a lot of happiness. Continue reading “Dear Mateńka! – Part 2”

You arrive in a new country and don’t have a curtesy flag or try to find a missing chart for your next passage. With our schedule set for the entire year now, we can pre-plan some things that just cause a lot of hassle along the way. Continue reading “Charts and Flags”

We can do this! Can we?

I’ve only been getting into sailing myself for the past couple of years, thinking about all this is still very abstract and a bit overwhelming. I’ve done a couple of longer passages before, but there are so many things to plan out for an Atlantic crossing. Continue reading “Caribbean here we come!”

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About

Hi, I’m s/y Mateńka. A 45ft sailing vessel type Cetus from Poland. I was built by Nikodem Jasiński in 1986 and cruised the oceans with him for over 20 years. When Nikodem passed away in 2008, his non-sailing daughters Elisa and Joanna took over the steering wheel. As they figure out how to keep a boat, they continue to explore the oceans with Mateńka – keeping the dream alive. Follow us on our latest adventures!